£3.2m in ‘firebreak’ lockdown grants paid

More than £3.2m will be paid this week to Pembrokeshire businesses who have successfully applied for grants introduced in response to the current ‘firebreak’ lockdown.

Applications for the non-repayable Welsh Government grants opened on Wednesday, 28^th October, and will close at 5pm on Friday, 20^th November, or when the fund is fully committed.

The Lockdown Non-Domestic Rate Grants are for businesses liable for business rates and more than 2,050 applications had been received by Pembrokeshire County Council as of yesterday (Tuesday, 3^rd November).

The first payment run of 1,092 successful applications – totalling £3.22m – was processed on Tuesday.

Given the volume of grants received, the Council respectfully asks applicants to be patient as the team processes the applications daily.

Councillor Paul Miller, The Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “I have been working alongside the team to support them in delivering the grant applications and I want to thank them for all their hard work.

“We appreciate that these grants are vital for the businesses involved, but we politely ask that applicants are patient and refrain from chasing applications at the current time.

“The team is busy processing applications and that needs to be the focus.”

The Welsh Government also launched a discretionary grant of £1,500 – the Lockdown Discretionary Grant – for businesses not on the NDR list who have been forced to close or seen at least an 80 per cent reduction in turnover as a result of the ‘firebreak’.

So far the Council has received more than 600 applications for the Lockdown Discretionary Grant.

This grant is now nearing the limit of applications and anyone considering applying is urged to do so as soon as possible.

For more information on the grants available and to make an application go to: http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/business-advice-and-support